The Zhu Father and Daughter (4)

Damn it. He'd really gotten tangled up in this.

That Yun Bong, of all people — his memory was uselessly, infuriatingly sharp.

At this rate, am I actually going to end up with a ring through my nose, led around by Zhu Gaochi?

If it came to that, he'd rather deal with the Imperial Grandson Zhu Zhanji, who would hold the throne for a good ten years. Not that things would completely fall apart if he did get pulled in. The problem was that it would mean sinking deep into the machinery of state. Zhu Gaochi was first in the line of succession — the Crown Prince. He would drop dead a mere ten months after taking the throne, true, but he would become emperor. Which meant, frankly, there would be no shortage of people trying to put a blade in him, just like today.

The biggest problem of all was Zhu Gaochi's younger brother, Zhu Gaoxu. Just thinking about that bastard was exhausting. History that tied directly to the imperial succession was something Jinmyeong would rather not touch if he could help it. Hmm.

Anyway. He'd think about that when the time came. For now, since things had already turned out this way, he might as well see if there was anything worth squeezing out of it. He'd thrown out bloodstained clothes and spent his own money doing it — he was going to recoup every last coin.

Now it was his turn.

"Attendant Jang Jinmyeong."

"Yes!"

Damn it… that sounded so twisted. Now that he was fully intact and in working order, he couldn't stand that clipped palace "Yes!" he used to snap off so readily before the regression.

"Yes!"

Jinmyeong answered the moment Yun Bong called his name.

And then —

Gongsun Dajing and the last surviving guardsmen snapped their eyes wide. It was only a single syllable, short as a spark — but they had heard that voice before.

In the instant the Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi's life had hung by a thread, a young eunuch had appeared on the driver's bench in the blink of an eye and vanished just as suddenly. That voice. The same eunuch who had obliterated an assassin mid-lunge, the one who had been holding a sword to the Crown Prince's throat.

Gongsun Dajing and the guardsmen whipped their heads around.

Wang Zhen, whose name had been called first, felt an instinctive chill crawl up his spine.

What? What is this atmosphere?

The Qianhu of the Jinyiwei and his guardsmen were reacting… strangely. It was as if they were saying that the hero of the day's miraculous feat was Jang Jinmyeong. That Jang Jinmyeong — the one Wang Zhen wouldn't even bother chewing up and spitting out?

He saw through the disguised assassins and took down two of them besides? That little brat?

Whether it failed to occur to him that he himself was even younger than that "brat," or whether he simply chose not to think about it, was anyone's guess. Either way, Wang Zhen could not accept that Jang Jinmyeong was anything of the kind.

Grant, for the sake of argument, that his martial skill could stand against assassins. Grant a thousand times over that he had gotten lucky and spotted them. But a boy of barely nineteen, in a place where blood and flesh were flying, cutting down two vicious killers? That wasn't a story about getting lucky. That was a story about committing murder in the thick of a savage melee. A nineteen-year-old boy, against assassins — twice!

The next moment shattered Wang Zhen's reasoning beyond any hope of repair.

"Palace attendant! You! Why did you not come forward!"

Gongsun Dajing had recognized him. How could he forget that voice — the voice that had averted a catastrophe, the voice of a comrade who had fought beside him?

As if to confirm that Gongsun Dajing was not mistaken, the remaining guardsmen recognized Jinmyeong as well, their faces lighting with unguarded welcome. Color returned to features that had been locked rigid with the pain of their wounds.

"Qianhu? Then —?"

"It is so, Gonggong! Eunuch Jang saved His Highness the Crown Prince, Her Highness Princess Gaheung, this officer, and all my men. Eunuch Jang! Why do you not come forward? His Highness has been waiting — every moment like three autumns!"

Gongsun Dajing gave Yi Gwak a great, confirming nod, then strode straight to Jinmyeong and seized both his hands. He had already acknowledged the boy in the moment Jinmyeong had stayed behind alone to warn them of the assassins. Young as he was, Gongsun Dajing had been deeply moved — here was a martial man in his own right, and a servant of unmatched loyalty.

"Ah, that is…"

Jinmyeong, for his part, was in the slightly awkward position of not knowing what to say.

"Ah! So you meant to give the credit to the hard-working eunuchs of the Directorate of City Overseers. Of course! This officer knew he had judged his man correctly. Indeed!"

Gongsun Dajing resolved it for him. Cleanly. Completely.

A chorus of moved exclamations burst from every corner of the hall. The eunuchs of the Directorate of City Overseers, in particular, had tears welling in their eyes.

Eunuchs were known to weep without warning over the most trivial things, and to fly into rages over equally trivial ones — and then, just when you thought they were angry, the anger would already have drained away. It was the result of temperament shifting to follow the changes in a body that had been cut, and the pattern was common to all of them. How, then, could anyone expect them to keep their wits in a moment like this?

"Attendant Jang did it for us… hck!"

"Hck-hck!"

Some among the Directorate of City Overseers were so overcome that their legs gave out. Others wet themselves. And among them, one man was not merely weeping — he was wailing outright.

Keuhh! Keuhh!

Deung So, who knew the whole of it — that Jinmyeong had claimed an assassin ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had been crushed, that he had taken the responsibility on himself and ordered the other eunuchs to stand aside — was sobbing without restraint.

Gongsun Dajing and the guardsmen looked at him the way men look at a comrade returned from the jaws of death. The castrated men of the Directorate of City Overseers blubbered off to one side. Yi Gwak, the Senior Superintendent Overseer, and the other taijian of the Directorate of Ceremonial beamed with satisfaction that a newly arrived eunuch had raised the standing of the inner court.

"Ahaha…!"

With everyone leaping to their own conclusions and settling the matter among themselves, Jinmyeong could only offer a sheepish laugh. He had no other choice.

Fine. Think whatever you want. Think whatever you damn well please. Hell, even I don't know anymore.

That evening, a personal attendant eunuch of the Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi announced the arrival of three men.

"Your Highness! Yi Gwak, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Senior Superintendent Overseer of the Directorate of Ceremonial; Gongsun Dajing, Qianhu of the Imperial Jinyiwei Command; and Jang Jinmyeong, Attendant of the Directorate of Ceremonial, seek audience."

"Admit them."

Summoned by the Crown Prince, the three men proceeded at once to Dangyeong Hall. Following the attendant eunuch inside, they found Zhu Gaochi seated in the place of honor, with Ju Jeong-won beside him.

"Be at ease. Sit."

Zhu Gaochi raised the three men from their prostrations and seated them, then regarded Jinmyeong in silence. Yi Gwak was someone he saw coming and going; Gongsun Dajing he had seen only moments before. His attention, therefore, belonged entirely to Jinmyeong.

The Crown Prince's impression was much the same as anyone else's. He was quite tall for a eunuch — but his looks were so striking it seemed a waste that he was one.

After taking in that first impression, Zhu Gaochi spoke.

"Senior Superintendent Overseer."

"Yes, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

"We were told he belonged to the Directorate of City Overseers. Now you say the Directorate of Ceremonial?"

"Your Highness! This humble officer begs leave to speak in his place, if it please you."

Gongsun Dajing stepped forward, judging it better that he explain. A eunuch praising another eunuch would not sit as well as the same words from a military officer.

"The Qianhu wishes to speak? Very well."

"Attendant Jang Jinmyeong of the Directorate of Ceremonial told this officer he belonged to the Directorate of City Overseers, so that the credit might go to their eunuchs."

"Is that so? Ah! Splendid! How old is the Attendant this year?"

Struck with unexpected admiration, Zhu Gaochi turned the question on Jinmyeong himself.

"Nineteen, Your Highness."

"Nineteen? An inner-court servant who saw through the traitors' scheme and possessed martial skill of that order — and he is only nineteen? Splendid! Truly splendid! How long have you been in the palace?"

"Today is my fourth day since entering the palace, Your Highness."

"Four days? Four days, and already an Attendant?"

Zhu Gaochi looked to Yi Gwak. The glance asked how such a thing had come to pass.

"Attendant Jang was selected for the Directorate of Ceremonial not only for a bearing befitting an inner-court servant, but for his command of the classics. His martial skill, moreover, is in no way inferior to eunuchs who have trained for years. That is how it came to be."

"Command of the classics? Astonishing! So that is the way of it. Yes — if a man has ability, he must be given a post to match. That is how talent is properly used. The Directorate of Ceremonial has done well."

"Your Highness's grace is boundless."

As Zhu Gaochi's admiration mounted, Jinmyeong felt a growing unease, as if the situation were sliding exactly where his worst suspicions had pointed.

Old Gonggong. Easy does it, please. At this rate I really am going to get a ring through my nose. Let's just take the crumbs and get out of here.

And besides —

That little one's eyes feel strangely intense. That's just my imagination, right? Do not meet those eyes. Absolutely not.

Jeong-won kept stealing glances at him, her eyes bright and glittering. He had never in his life seen a gaze so packed with curiosity.

Don't. Don't you dare. If you start asking your father to give me to you, this older brother is going to scold you.

While he was busy fending off Jeong-won's interest, the moment arrived. Time to report the Heaven-Confounding Gossamer Killing Formation, claim the merit of beating two assassins, and recoup what he had spent on new eunuch robes.

"Your merit in protecting Our person and Jeong-won from the traitors is great. Attendant — name a wish."

"For an inner-court servant to fulfill his duty is only what is proper. How could this one dare seek private gain? I beg Your Highness to withdraw such consideration."

The moment Jinmyeong offered the customary refusal, the other officials echoed it with one voice. To name a wish the instant a member of the imperial house — the Emperor included — invited one to do so was a breach of propriety. Declining at least once, as he had just done, was the law of the palace and its long-settled custom.

The boy. How can he be this quick?

Watching Jinmyeong carry off, without a single lesson, what no one had taught him, Yi Gwak was inwardly well pleased.

"Your servant is overwhelmed by imperial grace."

"You may think it excessive. It is not. Given the Jeonbu's outstanding gifts, he will in three months' time become a personal attendant eunuch of the imperial house. We have merely conferred the rank in advance."

"Your servant is overwhelmed by imperial grace."

The personal attendant eunuchs who served the Zhu family within the palace ordinarily held ranks of Seventh-Grade Zhangshou or higher.

"We have given you rank. Now We ought to give you treasure, no?"

At last. Here it came. Offices, prestige titles — he could manage those himself. What he wanted was something useful in actual life.

"Fengyu, go and fetch Our jade casket."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Presently the attendant eunuch came hurrying forward, the jade casket borne in both hands. It rested on a thick cloth — a pale celadon green, about the size of a grown man's fist.

What is that look? How is anyone supposed to not get their hopes up? Anyone can see it. That's one of those. An elixir!

Surely they wouldn't have put some common ring in a jade casket that precious.

At that same hour, some three hundred li from Yingtianfu, in Hefei of Zhili Province — at a manor on the slopes of Mount Dashu.

In the innermost hall of the estate, a man and a woman sat facing each other.

"Heheheh! A young eunuch saw the ambush coming? And his awareness was no ordinary thing either, I take it?"

"Yes, Grand Preceptor. When he dealt with the grandmaster of the Killing Heaven Gate, even this lady could not match his speed."

Yi Yugyeong. The beautiful woman who had directed that morning's assault on the Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi from the shadows addressed the immortal-looking old man as Grand Preceptor.

The Grand Preceptor, together with the Grand Guardian and the Grand Mentor, formed the Three Dukes — the highest honorary offices in the realm. In other words, the Son of Heaven's own teacher. A man who ought, by rights, to have been in Yingtianfu.

Of course, the old man sitting across from Yi Yugyeong was not the Grand Preceptor of the Ming court. The Grand Preceptor whom the Yongle Emperor trusted was, as he should have been, in Yingtianfu.

"I would expect as much. In sheer speed, the Sunflower Manual is a martial study that finds few rivals. But for a eunuch not yet twenty to have already reached such a realm — that is remarkable."

The Grand Preceptor found himself doubtful of the young eunuch Yi Yugyeong had described. Yi Yugyeong herself was only twenty-four, a martial artist with one foot in the Peak Realm — one of the most celebrated young talents in the present jianghu. If even she had failed to match that speed, it was no ordinary swiftness.

The number of eunuchs was already climbing. If some among the younger ones had risen to that level, the plan would need revision.

"This lady shall look into it."

"By next spring, a Directorate of Ceremonial above the Directorate of Ceremonial will appear north of Dong'an Gate. He may have been raised for that. Just as the Jinyiwei raised a Qianhu from the Gongsun family."

"The Eastern Depot, you mean. Dongchang."

The Grand Preceptor and Yi Yugyeong seemed well informed of the court's inner workings. They possessed, intact, intelligence on the founding of the Eastern Depot — a matter the palace itself was still keeping quiet.

"Just so. Find out whether the palace has any special program for training eunuchs, and dispose of that one. He interfered with the Covenant's work. He will pay the price."

"Yes, Grand ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Preceptor."

"The affair went awry this time, so we shall have to wait a little longer. If only we had known sooner that the Crown Prince had left the palace. In any case, this old man must go and see the Covenant Lord."

As the Grand Preceptor said, the Covenant had learned only belatedly that Zhu Gaochi had left the palace. Until last year, he had not visited his mother's tomb. They had grasped it late, thrown together an assassination in haste — and then a young eunuch who had never been part of the plan had appeared, and the whole thing had collapsed.

"I am ashamed. It was this lady's failure."

"No, no. Good fortune always comes with its share of misfortune — that is the way of it. Another chance will come."

The Grand Preceptor smiled gently and shook his head at Yi Yugyeong's apology. She was an essential resource for the great design, and her motivation ran just as deep. Ability, purpose, and the passion that fuels them — motivation — were not easily found together in a single person.

"When were you thinking… perhaps you mean winter?"

"Zheng He will return before long. When that one comes back, he will summon the orthodox masters and the great clans, and he will expand the eunuchs and the Jinyiwei. The defenses, inside the palace and out, will grow tight."

When Zheng He, Grand Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial, returned at the head of the great treasure fleet, the goods he had brought from the Western Regions would be put on display. Orthodox martial artists would be summoned, granted wealth and office, and bound in loyalty and harmony to the state and the imperial house — that was the established ceremony. And with this attempt having failed, it was wiser not to expect the Zhu family to set foot outside the palace for some time.

"I understand. This lady will wait until New Year's Day."

"Let us do so. Or — it is darkest under the lamp. Striking during the ceremony itself would be one method. In any case, let us watch and wait. You have had a hard journey. You may go."

"Yes, Grand Preceptor. This lady withdraws."